Cyprus capital controls to be "loose" but island-wide

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Capital controls imposed to avert a run on banks in Cyprus after a painful EU rescue plan will be “loose” but will apply to all banks on the island, the Central Bank governor said on Tuesday.

“We aim for some restrictions which, in the words of the president, will be loose,” Cyprus Central Bank governor Panicos Demetriades said. He said the measure would apply to all banks based on the island.

Demetriades said the restrictions would be “temporary” but would not say how long they would last.

He said authorities were doing “all they could” to ensure banks reopen on Thursday, as announced late on Monday.

Banks have been closed for more than week to prevent a run on deposits. The two banks at the center of the financial crisis — Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular Bank — are currently limiting ATM withdrawals to 100 euros a day.